American professional golfer
Mark Francis O'Meara
(born January 13, 1957) is an American
professional golfer
. He was a tournament winner on the
PGA Tour
and around the world from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He spent nearly 200 weeks in the top-10 of the
Official World Golf Ranking
from their debut in 1986 to 2000.
[2]
He was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame
in 2015.
[3]
Early years
[
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]
O'Meara was born in
Goldsboro, North Carolina
, but grew up in
southern California
, specifically in
Mission Viejo
. He took up golf at age 13, sneaking on to the nearby
Mission Viejo Country Club
. O'Meara later became an employee of the club and played on his high school golf team. He was an
All-American
at
Long Beach State
,
[4]
and won the
U.S. Amateur
in 1979, defeating defending champion
John Cook
, 8 and 7, in the final.
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
He also won the
California State Amateur Championship
that year.
O'Meara was a former resident of
Orlando, Florida
and once lived in the same neighborhood as
Tiger Woods
. The two became good friends and frequently golfed together during this time. Today, O'Meara resides in
Southern Highlands, Nevada
.
[9]
Professional career
[
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]
After graduating with a degree in marketing in 1980, O'Meara turned professional and would win 16 events on the
PGA Tour
, beginning with the
Greater Milwaukee Open
in 1984, and the
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
five times. His best year as a professional golfer came relatively late in his career ? in 1998 at age 41 ? when he won two
majors
:
The Masters
and the
British Open
. O'Meara's victory in The Masters came during his 15th attempt. O'Meara attributed this resurgence partly to the inspiration of working with
Tiger Woods
, the new superstar of the game at the time, with whom O'Meara had become good friends.
[10]
In the same year, he won the
Cisco World Match Play Championship
and reached a career best of second in the
Official World Golf Ranking
.
O'Meara is known for competing outside the United States more often than most leading American golfers, and has won tournaments in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. A man with a genial demeanor, he is one of the most popular figures in international golf. In the new millennium his form took a downturn and he began to struggle with injuries, but in 2004 he won an official tour event for the first time since 1998, taking the
Dubai Desert Classic
title, which despite being played in the Middle East is a
European Tour
event.
After the European Tour tournament
Lancome Trophy
at Golf de
Saint-Nom-la-Breteche
, 30 km west of
Paris
,
France
in September
1997
, which was won by O'Meara, he was involved in a controversy. Runner-up was
Jarmo Sandelin
of
Sweden
. A television viewer in Sweden observed that, on the 15th green in the final round, O'Meara, facing a two and a half foot putt, had replaced his ball half an inch closer to the hole than had been indicated by his marker. Sandelin wrote to O'Meara in March 1998, sent a video recording of the incident and asked for an explanation. O'Meara insisted he had not intended to gain any advantage and sought advice from the PGA and European Tours, who informed him that the tournament was over and the result stood. Sandelin went public with the story and demanded that O'Meara should hand back the trophy and the prize money.
[11]
O'Meara admitted in April 1998, he may, without intention, have broken the rules of golf on his way to winning the 1997 Lancome Trophy.
[12]
Champions Tour
[
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]
In
2007
, O'Meara began play on the
Champions Tour
; he had many top-10 finishes in his first three seasons including several runner-up finishes, but no wins. In 2010, he broke through with a win in the
Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
with
Nick Price
, followed by his first
senior major
victory in the
Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship
. O'Meara was sidelined by a rib injury for several months starting in April 2012; he missed the
majors
on both tours and did not compete until August.
[13]
[14]
O'Meara has begun to develop a
golf course
design practice and enjoys fishing in his off time. He is currently a brand ambassador for
Pacific Links International
. In March 2019, O'Meara won the
Cologuard Classic
in
Tucson, Arizona
. He shot a final round seven-under 66, to win by four shots. This win ended an eight-year win drought on the
PGA Tour Champions
.
Awards and recognition
[
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]
Following his two major wins in 1998, O'Meara received that year's
BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year
, an award given to a non-British sportsperson considered to have made the most substantial contribution to a sport in a year.
[15]
He was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame
in 2015.
[3]
Amateur wins
[
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]
Professional wins (34)
[
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]
PGA Tour wins (16)
[
edit
]
Legend
|
Major championships (2)
|
Other PGA Tour (14)
|
No.
|
Date
|
Tournament
|
Winning score
|
To par
|
Margin of
victory
|
Runner(s)-up
|
1
|
Sep 16,
1984
|
Greater Milwaukee Open
|
67-68-69-68=272
|
?16
|
5 strokes
|
Tom Watson
|
2
|
Feb 3,
1985
|
Bing Crosby National Pro-Am
|
70-72-68-73=283
|
?5
|
1 stroke
|
Kikuo Arai
,
Larry Rinker
,
Curtis Strange
|
3
|
Feb 10, 1985
|
Hawaiian Open
|
67-66-65-69=267
|
?21
|
1 stroke
|
Craig Stadler
|
4
|
Jan 29,
1989
|
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
(2)
|
66-68-73-70=277
|
?11
|
1 stroke
|
Tom Kite
|
5
|
Feb 4,
1990
|
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
(3)
|
67-73-69-72=281
|
?7
|
2 strokes
|
Kenny Perry
|
6
|
Oct 7, 1990
|
H.E.B. Texas Open
|
64-68-66-63=261
|
?19
|
1 stroke
|
Gary Hallberg
|
7
|
Oct 19,
1991
|
Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic
|
66-66-71-64=267
|
?21
|
1 stroke
|
David Peoples
|
8
|
Feb 2,
1992
|
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
(4)
|
69-68-68-70=275
|
?13
|
Playoff
|
Jeff Sluman
|
9
|
Mar 12,
1995
|
Honda Classic
|
68-65-71-71=275
|
?9
|
1 stroke
|
Nick Faldo
|
10
|
Sep 10, 1995
|
Bell Canadian Open
|
72-67-68-67=274
|
?14
|
Playoff
|
Bob Lohr
|
11
|
Jan 7,
1996
|
Mercedes Championships
|
68-69-66-68=271
|
?17
|
3 strokes
|
Nick Faldo
,
Scott Hoch
|
12
|
Apr 28, 1996
|
Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic
|
75-68-62-69=274
|
?14
|
2 strokes
|
Duffy Waldorf
|
13
|
Feb 2,
1997
|
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
(5)
|
67-67-67-67=268
|
?20
|
1 stroke
|
David Duval
,
Tiger Woods
|
14
|
Feb 9, 1997
|
Buick Invitational
|
67-66-71-71=275
|
?13
|
2 strokes
|
David Ogrin
,
Donnie Hammond
,
Jesper Parnevik
,
Craig Stadler
,
Lee Janzen
,
Mike Hulbert
,
Duffy Waldorf
|
15
|
Apr 12,
1998
|
Masters Tournament
|
74-70-68-67=279
|
?9
|
1 stroke
|
Fred Couples
,
David Duval
|
16
|
Jul 19, 1998
|
The Open Championship
|
72-68-72-68=280
|
E
|
Playoff
|
Brian Watts
|
PGA Tour playoff record (3?4)
European Tour wins (5)
[
edit
]
Legend
|
Major championships (2)
|
Other European Tour (3)
|
European Tour playoff record (1?0)
PGA of Japan Tour wins (2)
[
edit
]
PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)
[
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]
South American Tour wins (1)
[
edit
]
Other wins (8)
[
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]
No.
|
Date
|
Tournament
|
Winning score
|
To par
|
Margin of
victory
|
Runner(s)-up
|
1
|
Nov 16, 1985
|
Isuzu Kapalua International
|
67-70-70-68=275
|
?13
|
Playoff
|
Corey Pavin
|
2
|
Nov 19, 1989
|
RMCC Invitational
(with
Curtis Strange
)
|
66-62-62=190
|
?26
|
6 strokes
|
Bernhard Langer
and
John Mahaffey
,
Lanny Wadkins
and
Tom Weiskopf
|
3
|
Aug 23, 1994
|
Fred Meyer Challenge
(with
John Cook
)
|
63-62=125
|
?17
|
Playoff
|
Ben Crenshaw
and
Phil Mickelson
|
4
|
Oct 18, 1998
|
Cisco World Match Play Championship
|
1 up
|
Tiger Woods
|
5
|
Nov 29, 1998
|
Skins Game
|
$405,000
|
$10,000
|
Tom Lehman
|
6
|
Nov 21, 1999
|
World Cup of Golf
(with
Tiger Woods
)
|
140-133-130-142=545
|
?23
|
5 strokes
|
Spain
?
Santiago Luna
and
Miguel Angel Martin
|
7
|
Aug 8, 2000
|
Fred Meyer Challenge
(2)
(with
John Cook
)
|
64-61=125
|
?19
|
Playoff
|
David Frost
and
Jim Furyk
|
8
|
Dec 1, 2002
|
Skins Game
(2)
|
$405,000
|
$105,000
|
Phil Mickelson
|
Other playoff record (3?0)
PGA Tour Champions wins (3)
[
edit
]
Legend
|
PGA Tour Champions major championships (1)
|
Other Champions Tour (2)
|
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (2?2)
Major championships
[
edit
]
Wins (2)
[
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]
1
Defeated Brian Watts in 4-hole playoff: O'Meara (4-4-5-4=17), Watts (5-4-5-5=19)
Results timeline
[
edit
]
Win
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary
[
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]
- Most consecutive cuts made ? 11 (1995 Masters ? 1999 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s ? 2 (1998 Open Championship ? 1998 PGA)
Results in The Players Championship
[
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]
Tournament
|
1990
|
1991
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
The Players Championship
|
WD
|
CUT
|
T9
|
5
|
CUT
|
CUT
|
T29
|
T70
|
T42
|
T6
|
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships
[
edit
]
1
Cancelled due to
9/11
Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament
Senior major championships
[
edit
]
Wins (1)
[
edit
]
Results timeline
[
edit
]
Results not in chronological order before 2022.
Win
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to
COVID-19 pandemic
U.S. national team appearances
[
edit
]
Professional
- Alfred Dunhill Cup
:
1985
,
1986
,
1987
,
1996
(winners),
1997
,
1998
,
1999
- Ryder Cup
:
1985
,
1989
(tie),
1991
(winners),
1997
,
1999
(winners)
- Nissan Cup
: 1985 (winners)
- Presidents Cup
:
1996
(winners),
1998
- World Cup
:
1999
(winners)
- UBS Cup
: 2001 (winners), 2002 (winners), 2003 (tie)
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Week 36 1998 Ending 6 Sep 1998"
(pdf)
.
OWGR
. Retrieved
December 20,
2018
.
- ^
"69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking"
(PDF)
. Official World Golf Ranking
. Retrieved
January 14,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
McAllister, Mike (October 15, 2014).
"Class of 2015 Hall of Famers receive surprise calls"
. PGA Tour.
- ^
Foster, Chris (March 9, 2007).
"O'Meara Comes Home For Toshiba Classic"
. Long Beach State.com. Archived from
the original
on September 28, 2007.
- ^
"Ohio State's Cook makes Am finals"
.
Toledo Blade
. (Ohio). Associated Press. September 2, 1979. p. 5C.
- ^
"O'Meara dethrones Cook, easily wins U.S. Amateur"
.
Toledo Blade
. (Ohio). Associated Press. September 3, 1979. p. 32.
- ^
"U.S. Amateur Results: 1895 to Present"
. USGA. February 15, 2020
. Retrieved
April 18,
2020
.
- ^
Chmiel, David (August 18, 2015).
"Mark O'Meara: U.S. Amateur Victory Provided Crucial Confidence"
. USGA
. Retrieved
August 3,
2017
.
- ^
Wargo, Buck (June 5, 2020).
"Golf champ Mark O'Meara buys Southern Highlands home"
.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
.
- ^
An Interview with: Mark O'Meara
Archived
October 9, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Glover, Tim (June 20, 1999).
"Golf: First Night - Jarmo Sandelin: The maverick of the fairways Europe's newest Ryder Cup player will test the team ethic"
.
Independent
.
- ^
"O'Meara admits to possible misplacing"
.
The Irish Times
. April 30, 1998.
- ^
"O'Meara withdraws from Masters before 1st round"
. April 5, 2012. Archived from
the original
on April 7, 2012
. Retrieved
July 10,
2012
.
- ^
"Former champ Mark O'Meara to miss British Open"
. July 10, 2012.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Owen nets BBC sports award"
. BBC. December 14, 1998
. Retrieved
August 15,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
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|
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| † indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won
wire-to-wire
; 1943?1945
cancelled due to
World War II
|
|
---|
| † indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire in 72-holes; # indicates the event was won by an amateur
1871
No championship
; 1915?1919
cancelled due to
World War I
; 1940?1945
cancelled due to
World War II
; 2020
cancelled due to
COVID-19 pandemic
|
|
|
---|
|
† indicates the event was won in a playoff
|
|
---|
- PGA Players of the Year
- PGA Tour Players of the Year
|
|
---|
|
- † indicates the event was won in extra holes.
|